Alvar Aalto was a prominent Finnish architect known for helping establish organic modernism. Some key facts: - Born in 1898 in Finland, died in 1976 - Designed over 500 buildings, 300 of which were built, mainly in Finland - Influenced by nature and organic materials unlike steel-focused modernism of the time - Sought to synthesize man, nature, and buildings in his functionalist designs - Notable works include Paimio Sanatorium, Saynatsalo Town Hall, Viipuri Library, Villa Mairea, Baker House, Finlandia Hall - Also designed furniture, glassware, and more across scales from buildings to objects

1. ALVAR AALTO

2. INTRODUCTION
• Born- Hugo Alvar Henrick Aalto
3 Februrary 1898
Kourtane, Finland
• Died- 1 May 1976(aged 78)
Helsinki, Finland
• Nationality- Finnish
• Awards- RIBA Gold Medal
AIA Gold Medal
• Buildings- Paimio Sanatorium
Saynatsalo Town Hall
Viipuri Library
Villa Mairea
Baker House
Finlandia Hall
• Projects- Helsinki City Centre
• Design- Savoy Vase
Paimio Chair

3. HISTORY
• Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was born in Kourtane,
Finland.
• His father, Johan Henrick Aalto, was a Finnish-
speaking land-surveyor and his mother, Selly
Matilda was a Sweddish-speaking postmistress.
• When Aalto was 5 years old, the family moved
to Alajarvi, and from there to Jyvaskyla in
Central Finland. Aalto studied at
the Jyvaskyla lyccum school, completing his basic
education in 1916.
• In 1916he then enrolled to study architecture at
the Helsinki University of Technology.
His studies were interrupted by the Finnish Civil
War, which he fought in.
• He built his first piece of architecture while still a
student, a house for his parents, at Alajarvi.
• Afterwards, he continued his education,
graduating in 1921.

4. CAREER
• Aalto's career spans the changes instyle from
(Nordic classicism) to pursit International style
modernism to a more personal, synthetic and
idiosyncratic modernism.
• Aalto,s wide field of design activity ranges from
the large scale of City planning and architecture
to interior design, furniture and glassware
design and painting.
• It has been estimated that during his entire
career aalto designed over 500
individual buildings, approximately 300 of which
were built, the vast majority of which are in
Finland.
• He also has a few buildings in France, Germany,
Italy and the USA.

5. PHILOSOPHY
• His design philosophy was influenced by nature
and organic materials, unlike other furniture of
the same period with materials as tubular steel,
which were quite modern at the time.
• With his innovative designs and natural forms
he changed the course of design towards organic
modernism.
• The beauty of his work is hidden in his design
approach of functionalism between man, nature
and buildings.
• He coordinated these three components and
created a synthesis of life in materialized form.
• He designed in ery different scales ranging from
buildings, town plans, furniture, glassware,
jewellery and other forms of art.

6. WORKERS CLUB (1924)
• Architectural Style: Nordic Style
• Features:
• Discontinuing glazing on all four sides at entrance level.
• This building houses a restaurant and a coffee bar which suppors
the auditorium above.
• He employs a various classical devices:
• Circular atrium
• Doric columns
• Palladian window
• Cartouches to decorate the stuccoes wall

7. • It was a two-storey building situated on the corner of two streets in the centre of the town, and with a café
and restaurant on the ground floor.
• From the street level one entered an impressive entrance hall that led uptairs to the auditorium floor
comprising a theater space and foyer.
• In the basement floor spaces were reserved for, among other things, a kitcen, storage and washing and toilet
facilities.
• Aalto also designed the lamps for the building as well as the decorative paintings and part of the furniture.
Ground Floor Plan

8. First Floor Plan
Second Floor Plan

9. VILLA MAIREA (1924)
• Architectural Style: Modernism
• Features:
• The courtyard of the villa was inspired by the
organization of vernacular farmstead.
• The massing was inspired by the falling waters by
frank lloyd wright.

10. Ground Floor Plan First Floor Plan

11. • Teak clad living room projects forward to
create shallow balconies that lead on to the
principle bedroom above.
• Also design elments such as the pool and the
rubble masonry wall add to the aesthetic.
• Bedroom windows project out at an angle to address
the line of approach to the house through the forest.
• The main entrance to thedoor is approach under a two
level canopy supported by compound timber column
and screened by miniature forest of poles.

12. • Screening by vertical poles help to differentiate
the interlinked spaces.
• To enter this inner sanctum, columns are made to
resemble tree trunks are located at certain points to
create the impression similar to that os emerging
through the fringes of a forest clearing.

13. BAKERS HOUSE
(1947-48)
• Architectural Style: Modernist housing
• Baker house is a dormatory for the
massachusetts institute of technology,
designed in 1946
• Aalto was assisted by three finish
architects- veli paatela with his wife kaija
and olav hammarston, in addition to
aino.
• It was namedbaker house in 1950 after
everett moore baker, MIT,sdean of
students, who was killed in plane
crash that year.

14. • the site is located on a heavy trafficked street along the charles river.
• In order to avoid as much as possible the disturbing view out onto this street, a curving plan form was chosen.
• By his means, no room was oriented at right angles to the street and its traffic.
• An attempt to make use of this phenomenon was made with the form of the building:
1. The windows face diagonally to the passing automobiles and thus aford a quieter enviroment for the person
within the room.
2. The stairway system is housed in a paraled structure rising up the north side of the building which allowa an
unobstructed view along its either lenghth from the lowestlanding.

15. • The stairway system is housed in a paneled structure rising
up the north side of the building which allows
anunobstructed view along its enyire length from the lowest
landing.
• The free form of rooms were built with 'rustic' bricks indeed
he went to find the dark red reject bricks that were rough
textured and included clinkers but clad the orthagonal
main common room in limetone.

17. Features:
• The sets of room can be seen as an illustration of what aalto might mean by 'flexible standardisation'.
• Each cell is essentially identical, but because of the shaped curve on plan 22 differnet room shapes are
created on a typical floor of 43 rooms.
• The ground floor social area was 'ORGANIC', and related to the landscape in both geometry and use of
materials.
• The lower floor is lit by virpuri like roof lights while the upper level has nearly continuous views towards the
river.
• Columns on the ground floor are simple plastered cylinder but on the upper level their connection iwth the
trees beyond is emphasised by a splayed shape and timber cladding.

18. Other works of Alvar Aalto
Paimio Chair Savoy Vase